Where do eminence and transformational achievement fit into the gifted education picture?

Abstract

This special double issue tackles a question, one among many in our wonderfully complicated field, that is philosophically charged and very much associated with the relationship of high performance to giftedness. The authors of the articles in this special issue do not conflate eminence with fame, which can be derived by outstanding contributions but also simply by being outrageous. Eminence is promoted here as a hard-earned designation given by peers for contributing to the betterment of practice, human well-being, or the promulgation of new ideas within a field. As eminence is very rare in the school age population, and generally is acknowledged much later in individuals’ lives, it is often left out of discussions about gifted education. The editors and authors of this special issue would argue that talent development is a lifelong journey, one that is often punctuated by important school experiences, but also takes place outside of schools, at home, and in communities of support. We feature nine articles in this special issue according to the following categorizations. First, we present articles that are framed around a model of talent development from potential to eminence or transformational achievement. Worrell and colleagues discuss the concept of eminence as the goal of talent development, an aspired endpoint of their Talent Development Megamodel, with the understanding that not all of those who are talented in earlier developmental periods will have the wherewithal, commitment, or psychological strength to pursue a creative product that changes the status quo in a domain. The article offers examples of trajectories from potential to achievement to expertise, and for some individuals to eminence in various domains. Paik and her colleagues present a biographical analysis of 19 and 20 century artists from minoritized groups framed by their Productive Giftedness Model. The model’s trajectory is also from potential to eminence. The focus of the model is on external factors such as the support derived by peers, families, mentors, and teachers, which were particularly salient for the individuals studied given the constraints and obstacles they encountered because of their gender or race. We are introduced by Balestrini and Stoeger to an example of what might be called an outlier talent field – Drum Corps. These fields have not been traditionally studied by researchers but offer interesting avenues to apply theoretical perspectives and gain new understandings about talent development. The drum corps phenomenon is framed using the Actiotope model, which focuses on the systems that support talent development in different domains. Unlike the other talents studied in the special issue, drum corps involves brilliant performance in unison with others. Two articles are focused on models as applied to eminent women. One, by Reis and Holinger, employs Reis’ female talent development model to study women with outstanding accomplishments in diverse fields. This article highlights the intentional approaches taken by the women to push boundaries in their fields in the pursuit of creative productivity. The article discusses the personality characteristics and environmental supports that promote strategic risk taking, particularly for women. Kronborg’s article highlights two components of her feminist model for developing talent: passionate engagement and taking opportunities. She does this by providing deep biographical exploration of several contemporary eminent Australian women and proposing that these two internal facGIFTED AND TALENTED INTERNATIONAL 2021, VOL. 36, NOS. 1–2, 1–2 https://doi.org/10.1080/15332276.2022.2051970